Diabetes Connections with Stacey Simms Type 1 Diabetes

The T1D news show you've been waiting for! Long-time broadcaster, blogger and diabetes mom Stacey Simms interviews prominent advocates, authors and speakers. Stacey asks hard questions of healthcare companies and tech developers and brings on "everyday' people living with type 1. Great for parents of T1D kids, adults with type 1 and anyone who loves a person with diabetes.

This week, a big step forward for diabetes technology. The FDA recently approved the very first hybrid closed loop insulin system: the Medtronic MiniMed 670G. Medtronic's Chief Patient Officer Louis Dias and Social Media Manager Karrie Hawbaker talk to Stacey about what this product is, what it isn’t, access to it and what comes next.

Our Community Connection this week features a unique fundraiser, The Elbow Bump Challenge. Find out how 9-year-old Logan hopes to help out his favorite conference, Children with Diabetes, Friends For Life.

And Stacey talks about the Joslin Medalist Study for people living with type 1 for more than 25 years.

Important information this week about Glucagon, emergency treatment for severe low blood sugar. Stacey talks to Julie Settles, the US Medical Lead for Glucagon at Lilly. We find out more about how Glucagon works, when to use it (and when not to) and what the company is working on to make the delivery easier.

Community Connection this week is with James Wedding who convinced an academic summer program to change their Glucagon emergency use policy.

The Type Zero Technologies artificial pancreas project is one of the many racing to market. Their technology comes from years of research, still ongoing, at the University of Virginia. This summer, they announced a new partnership with Tandem. Molly McElwee Malloy, who has type 1 herself, is the head of patient engagement for Type Zero. She talks about the studies, the progress and the emotional and mental side of artificial pancreas projects.

Plus, necessity is the mother of invention and diabetes moms are nothing if not resourceful. In our Community Connection, the inventor of Diabetic Dabs talks about how she come up with this idea. Liz Sacco shares the story of how her son's diagnosis led her to find a why to clean up after finger sticks.

This week, a conversation with some of the top executives at Animas, checking in on their newest products in development, the latest research and their company plans. Stacey talks to John Wilson, the Worldwide Vice President, Insulin Delivery for Johnson & Johnson and Krishna Venugopalan, the Worldwide Director of Research & Development, Insulin Delivery. They talk about Animas’s version of a hybrid closed loop, further Dexcom integration, remote capabilities and much more.

Stacey also gives her take on all the talk around the "Artificial Pancreas" vs "Hybrid Closed Loop" language that came with the announcement that Medtronic received approval for a first of its kind device.

And we mention the Diabetes Dance Dare, a new social media challenge from the American Diabetes Association.